ORIGINAL PAPER

Positive affectivity predicts successful and unsuccessfuladaptation to stress

Christian T. Gloria Kathryn E. Faulk

Mary A. Steinhardt

Published online: 6 April 2012

Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012

Abstract This study examined adaptation to work stress

among public school teachers (n = 267). Regression

analyses tested whether positive affect predicted successful

and unsuccessful adaptation to stress (viz., resilience and

burnout, respectively) after controlling for demographic

characteristics and work stress. Positive affect was largely

correlated with resilience (r = .65, p \ .001) and burnout(r = -.57, p \ .001). The regression of resilience showedthat positive affect had a direct effect (b = .66, p \ .001)and the total model explained 44 % of the variance (R2

Change = 37 %). In the regression of burnout, positive

affect also had a direct effect (b = -.41, p \ .001) and thetotal model explained 52 % of the variance (R2 Change =

14 %). Further analyses found no significant interaction

between work stress and positive affect, but revealed that

positive affect completely mediated the effect of work

stress on resilience. Results provide support for the

broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, particularly

the theorys building and undoing effects.

Keywords Teachers Work stress Positive affect Resilience Burnout

Introduction

Studies have found that teachers are seriously affected by

the stressfulness of their work environment (e.g., Dunham

and Varma 1998; Travers and Cooper 1996; Zhang and

Sapp 2008). Teaching is among the most stressful profes-

sions with 42 % of teachers reporting high work stress and

36 % feeling stressed all or most of the time (Smith et al.

2000). Longitudinal evidence indicates that approximately

95 % of teachers experience increasing levels of perceived

work stress over time (Chan et al. 2010). Teachers face a

variety of stressors in the workplace, such as excessive

workload, changes in curriculum, disruptive students, lack

of support from parents and the administration, conflicts

with colleagues, increasingly strict standards of account-

ability, and performance evaluations (Kyriacou 2001;

Manthei et al. 1996; Montgomery and Rupp 2005).

Constant exposure to high levels of work stress can

disrupt teachers homeostasis, inhibiting their ability to

cope effectively and maintain healthy functioning, and

result in either diminished (i.e., establishing a lower level

of homeostasis) or dysfunctional recovery (i.e., succumb-

ing to the stressful situation and feeling defeated; Carver

1998; Connor and Davidson 2003; OLeary and Ickovics

1995). Persistent unsuccessful adaptation to stress con-

tributes to the development of health problems such as the

burnout syndrome (Bakker et al. 2000; Bellingrath et al.

2009; Melchior et al. 2007; Wang 2005). Work stress and

burnout among teachers have reached alarming levels,

threatening the quality of the educational system and sub-

sequent student achievement (e.g., Kyriacou 2001; Travers

and Cooper 1996; Zhang and Sapp 2008). Difficult work-

ing conditions and low teacher salaries (Macdonald 1999;

Skaalvik and Skaalvik 2011) fuel psychosomatic symptoms

and disorders related to burnout, all of which contribute to

C. T. Gloria K. E. Faulk M. A. Steinhardt (&)Department of Kinesiology and Health Education,

The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station D3700,

Austin, TX 78712, USA

e-mail: msteinhardt@austin.utexas.edu

C. T. Gloria

e-mail: ctgloria@utexas.edu

K. E. Faulk

e-mail: katiefaulk@utexas.edu

123

Motiv Emot (2013) 37:185193

DOI 10.1007/s11031-012-9291-8

teachers prematurely leaving the profession (Bauer et al.

2006). It is estimated that 4050 % of new teachers leave

the profession after only 3 years (Ingersoll and Smith

2003), and over 90 % of new teachers are replacements

for those who resigned for reasons other than retirement

(Ingersoll 2002).

Teacher burnout is characterized by three interrelated

components: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and

reduced personal accomplishment (Maslach et al. 1996,

2001). Emotional exhaustion is the stress component and

central quality of burnout, occurring when a teacher is

extremely fatigued and feels overextended by work and

drained of emotional and physical resources (Schwarzer

and Hallum 2008). Depersonalization represents the inter-

personal component and is described as feeling cynical,

irritable, and negative towards others. Teachers are more

likely to develop an indifferent or cynical attitude and

detached response on the job when feeling emotionally

exhausted and discouraged (Maslach et al. 2001). Finally,

reduced personal accomplishmentthe self-evaluation

componentincludes feelings of ineffectiveness and a lack

of productivity and achievement at work; it is difficult to

feel a sense of accomplishment at work when feeling

emotionally exhausted and indifferent or cynical toward

others (Maslach and Leiter 2008). Burned-out teachers

typically report concurrent feelings of extreme fatigue

(Schwarzer and Hallum 2008), cynicism and negativity

toward others (Maslach et al. 2001), and a sense of despair

and diminished achievement at work (Maslach and Leiter

2008).

Interestingly, not all teachers experience symptoms of

burnout. Some teachers adapt successfully to stressful sit-

uations and demonstrate resiliencethey perceive change

and stressful situations as a challenge, maintain their

commitment to teaching despite challenging conditions and

recurring setbacks (Brunetti 2006), and perceive a sense of

personal control in handling day-to-day events (Kobasa

1979). Such adaptive outcomes from otherwise challenging

conditions suggest that resilient teachers are able to cope

with and persist in the face of adversity, balancing their

internal needs and desires with those of their students and

the context of the external environment. For example, Gu

and Day (2007) explored the role of resilience in charac-

terizing teacher effectiveness among 300 teachers

throughout their careers, and found that resilient teachers

sustain their motivation, commitment, and effectiveness

despite the range of difficult experiences they encounter in

their work environments. Similarly, a recent study of

novice teachers working in stressful under-resourced public

schools found that teacher effectiveness was predicted by

individual traits such as perseverance, passion for long-

term goals, and life satisfaction (Duckworth et al. 2009).

These findings are consistent with a recent review on

teacher resilience that identified having a positive attitude,

self-efficacy, coping and teaching skills, professional

reflection and growth, and self-care, as well as important

contextual factors such as positive studentteacher rela-

tionships, administrative support, and support from peers,

colleagues, family, and friends as enabling teachers to

thrive rather than just survive (Beltman et al. 2011). Fur-

ther, the role of resilience in teacher effectiveness is con-

sistent with the wider research literature that describes

resilient characteristics as including goal setting, patience,

faith, tolerance of negative affect, having close and secure

relationships, possessing the ability to focus and think

clearly, humor, and having a positive outlook even under

negative circumstances (Connor and Davidson 2003).

Research in positive psychology has demonstrated that

positive affectivity plays a significant role in predicting

whether an individual will successfully or unsuccessfully

adapt to stressful situations (Danner et al. 2001; Duckworth

et al. 2009; Lyubomirsky et al. 2005). A wide spectrum of

empirical evidence documents the adaptive value of posi-

tive affect in promoting resilience and successful adapta-

tion to stress (e.g., Danner et al. 2001; Davis et al. 1998;

Folkman and Moskowitz 2000). From a theoretical per-

spective, Fredricksons broaden-and-build theory of posi-

tive emotions posits that the experience of positive affect

expands ones scope of attention and cognition, and thus

enables more flexible and creative thinking (Fredrickson

2004; Fredrickson and Joiner 2002; Isen and Daubman

1984; Isen et al. 1987). The broadened cognition and

engaged attitude, in turn, promotes successful adaptation to

stress, and over time builds enduring psychosocial resour-

ces (e.g., adaptive coping strategies, positive personal

traits, and enhanced social support). These resources pro-

mote resilience and prevent undesirable outcomes such as

burnout (Fredrickson 2001, 2009; Fredrickson et al. 2003).

In contrast, the theory also suggests that individuals who

experience lower levels of positive affect tend to have

narrowed mindsets during stressful situations; this response

is due to the fight-or-flight reaction, which constricts ones

cognitive capacity in order to expedite decision-making

and immediately remove adversity. While this response

may be critical in life-or-death situations, it is often mal-

adaptive in situations that call for more time-consuming

and thoughtful actions, especially against stressors that are

constant and unrelenting such as those commonly reported

by teachers. As a result, teachers who experience lower

levels of positive affect are less likely to effectively cope

with stress and more likely to express problems such as the

burnout syndrome.

Previous studies have examined the influence of positive

affect on a variety of stress-related outcomes (e.g., Fred-

rickson et al. 2000, 2003). For example, positive affect was

found to have a direct effect on psychological functioning

186 Motiv Emot (2013) 37:185193

123

(Nelson and Knight 2010), physiological health (Fred-

rickson and Levenson 1998), and effectiveness of novice

teachers in disadvantaged schools (Duckworth et al. 2009).

In addition, researchers have also demonstrated that posi-

tive affect interacts with stress and moderates its negative

effect on health (Davis et al. 1998; Faulk et al. 2012; Ong

et al. 2006) such that the impact of stress on health is

reduced when ones positive affect is high. However, we

have yet to find studies that have assessed the influence of

positive affect on the relationships among work stress,

burnout, and resilience with public school teachers.

Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine

whether positive affect predicted successful and unsuc-

cessful adaptation in teaching (viz., resilience and burnout,

respectively), while controlling for the effects of a variety

of demographic characteristics and perceived work stress.

It was hypothesized that positive affect would have a

significant independent direct positive effect on resilience

and a negative effect on burnout, above and beyond that of

perceived work stress and demographic covariates. We also

tested whether there was a significant interaction, or

moderating effect, between perceived work stress and

positive affect in predicting resilience and burnout; we

hypothesized that positive affect would significantly

interact with stress and moderate the influence of stress on

resilience and burnout (i.e., as levels of stress increase,

individuals with higher levels of positive affect will report

lower levels of burnout and higher levels of resilience, in

contrast to those with lower levels of positive affect).

Results of this study could provide support for the broaden-

and-build theory of positive emotions as an effective the-

oretical framework for developing programs designed to

help teachers maintain resilience and prevent burnout.

Methods

Participants and procedures

Participants were obtained with assistance from a conve-

nience sample of public school teachers in Texas identified

as recipients of a prestigious Teaching Excellence Award

granted by the alumni association of a large public uni-

versity. Each teacher was sent a package via the United

States Postal Service that contained a letter explaining the

purpose of the study as well as six packets with copies of a

self-report survey and stamped addressed envelopes for the

convenient return of the completed surveys. A snowball

sampling technique was used in which the award-winning

teachers (n = 170) were instructed to complete one of the

six surveys, and distribute the remaining five survey

packets to fellow teachers who they believed represented a

variety of teaching skills and years of experience. A deck

of inspirational quote cards ($5 value) was included in each

packet as a small incentive for participation. To further

encourage participation, a stamped addressed postcard was

also included to allow participants to be entered into a

raffle drawing for a number of prizes, such as an auto-

graphed university football ($100 value), a university

t-shirt ($19 value), or a gift card ($15 value). One incentive

prize was given for every 10 surveys that were received. To

maintain participant anonymity, the survey instruments

were anonymous and completed at participants discretion;

the identifiable raffle postcards were mailed separately

from the surveys.

The final sample consisted of n = 267 public school

teachers from 94 different zip codes across Texas, repre-

senting a moderate response rate of 26 % (Alreck and

Settle 2004). Approximately 75 % were female with a

mean age of 45 years (ranging from 23 to 68 years); 86 %

were White, 8 % Hispanic or Latino, 3 % African-Amer-

ican, and less than 1 % each was Native-American or

Asian-American. The majority were high school teachers

(75 %), while others taught in middle (13 %) or elementary

(12 %) school. Overall, the sample was highly experi-

enced, with an average of 18 years of teaching experience.

Most earned a bachelors degree (55 %), although 43 %

held a masters degree, and 2 % had attained a doctorate

degree. Approximately 22 % of these teachers (n = 58)

were recipients of a prestigious Teaching Excellence

Award from the university conducting the study.

Measures

The survey instrument assessed participant demographic

characteristics, work stress, positive affect, resilience, and

teacher burnout. A copy of the survey may be requested

from the corresponding author.

Demographics

Participants were asked to report personal characteristics

including age, gender, ethnicity, education level, grade

level taught, years of teaching experience, and whether

they had received a Teaching Excellence Award from the

universitys alumni association.

Work stress

Perceived work stress was conceptualized as taxing work

conditions that undermine adaptation, and was assessed

using a modified version of the Teacher Stress Inventory

(Fimian 1984). The original instrument was updated to

include a broad range of potential stressors as well as an

assessment of each stressors exposure and appraisal. The

instrument assessed if participants had experienced 41

Motiv Emot (2013) 37:185193 187

123

commonly occurring stressful situations within the past

year (0 = not experienced, 1 = experienced). Sample

stressor items included not enough time to get things

done, administration not supportive enough, class size

or caseload is too big, tension with another teacher or

administrator, and pressure to adhere to instructional

planning guides. If the stressor had been experienced, the

participant appraised how negative, undesirable, or

upsetting the stressful situation was on a five-point scale

ranging from 0 to 4 (not at all to extremely). To score each

of the 41 items, the responses to the exposure and appraisal

questions were multiplied. A final perceived work stress

score was then calculated as the sum of the 41 (expo-

sure 9 appraisal) items, with higher scores indicating

greater levels of work stress. The instrument obtained a

strong internal consistency (a = .92), and concurrentvalidity was confirmed by a significant correlation

(r = .59, p \ .001) with the 4-item Perceived Stress Scale(PSS; Cohen et al. 1983).

Positive affect

Positive affect was operationalized as the individuals

experience of general positive feelings that enhance adap-

tation. This global measure of positive affect is reflective of

ones general feelings and emotions, in contrast to emo-

tional reactions in response to specific stimuli (Rottenberg

2005). This conceptualization is in alignment with the

research base that most often focuses on global positive

affect without distinguishing between moods and emotions

(Lyubomirsky et al. 2005). Positive affect was measured

using a 19-item modified version of the Positive Activation

subscale of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule

(PANAS; Watson et al. 1988). This modified measure

consists of the original 10 items included in the PANAS plus

9 additional positive emotions (viz., amused, calm, content,

curious, happy, relaxed, relieved, satisfied, surprised) added

by Tugade and Fredrickson (2004). On a five-point scale

ranging from 1 to 5 (not at all to very much so), participants

were asked to respond to the following instructions: This

scale consists of a number of words that describe different

feelings and emotions. Read each item and then indicate

how you generally feel. The positive affect score was then

calculated as the sum of the 19 items, with higher scores

indicating greater positive affect. The internal consistency

of the modified instrument was strong (a = .92).

Resilience

Participant resilience (i.e., successful adaptation to stress)

was assessed using the 25-item ConnorDavidson Resil-

ience Scale (CD-RISC; Connor and Davidson 2003). This

instrument measured a variety of resilient characteristics

that enable individuals to thrive in the face of adversity,

such as goal setting, patience, faith, humor, and tolerance

of negative affect, as well as the ability to perceive a

challenge, make a commitment, and take control. On a

five-point scale ranging from 0 to 4 (not true at all to true

nearly all the time), participants responded to items

including I believed I could achieve my goals, even if

there were obstacles and under pressure, I stay focused

and think clearly. The resilience score was calculated as

the sum of the items, with higher scores indicating greater

resilience. The CD-RISC instrument reported a strong

(a = .89) internal consistency.

Teacher burnout

The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (MBI-

ES) was used to assess teacher burnout (i.e., unsuccessful

adaptation to stress; Maslach et al. 1996). The MBI-ES

measures all three components of the burnout syndrome:

emotional exhaustion (9 items), depersonalization (5

items), and reduced personal accomplishment (8 items), on

a seven-point scale ranging from 0 to 6 (never to every

day). A sample emotional exhaustion item includes I feel

emotionally drained from my work; a sample deperson-

alization item includes I dont really care what happens to

some students; and a sample reduced personal accom-

plishment item (reverse-scored) includes I feel Im posi-

tively influencing other peoples lives through my work.

Total burnout was calculated as the sum of all three com-

ponents, with higher scores indicating greater teacher

burnout. The internal consistency of the MBI-ES instru-

ment was strong (a = .93).

Statistical analyses

All analyses were conducted using the Statistical Package

for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16. Years of

teaching experience was retained as a continuous control

variable; multiple-category demographic control variables

were collapsed into binary values in order to construct

appropriately-sized groups for analysis: award recipient

(0 = did not receive a Teaching Excellence Award,

1 = received an award), secondary school (0 = taught

elementary school, 1 = taught middle/high school), female

(0 = male, 1 = female), minority (0 = nonminority,

1 = minority), and advanced degree (0 = bachelors

degree, 1 = masters or doctorate).

Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to

examine the ability of positive affect to predict levels of

resilience and teacher burnout, after controlling for the

variance associated with the demographic variables and

work stress. The interactive effects of work stress and

positive affect on resilience and burnout were also

188 Motiv Emot (2013) 37:185193

123

examined. Due to the high correlation (r = .81) between

age and years of teaching experience, age was excluded

from the analyses. Preliminary analyses were conducted to

ensure that statistical assumptions of power, normality,

linearity, multicollinearity, independence, and homosce-

dasticity were satisfied. Values of all continuous predictors

were centered to prevent potential multicollinearity prob-

lems (Aiken and West 1991).

Results

Table 1 displays the correlations, means, standard devia-

tions, and range values for all study variables. Positive

affect had a large positive correlation with resilience and a

large negative correlation with teacher burnout, according

to Cohens criteria (1988). The strongest association

among the control variables was a moderate correlation

between winning an award and years of teaching experi-

ence. Additionally, teachers with an advanced degree had

more years of teaching experience and were more likely to

have won an award. Control variables were not strongly

related to work stress, positive affect, resilience, or teacher

burnout; although there were some significant correlations,

they were small in size. More experienced and award

winning teachers reported greater positive affect and less

burnout. Award winning teachers also reported greater

resilience and females reported greater work stress.

Positive affect predicts successful adaptation to stress

The six demographic variables (viz., years taught, award

recipient, secondary school, female, minority, and

advanced degree) were entered in Step 1, but did not sig-

nificantly contribute to the variance in resilience (see

Table 2). After entry of work stress in Step 2, the total

variance explained by the model as a whole was 7 %, F (7,

256) = 2.76, p \ .01. Work stress demonstrated a signifi-cant direct negative effect on resilience (b = -.17,p \ .01), explaining an additional 3 % of the variance inresilience, after controlling for the demographic variables,

R2 Change = .03, F Change (1, 256) = 7.21, p \ .01.Upon entering positive affect in Step 3, the total variance

explained by the model as a whole was 44 %, F (8,

255) = 25.22, p \ .001. Positive affect explained anadditional 37 % of the variance in resilience, after con-

trolling for the effects of the demographic variables and

work stress, R2 Change = .37, F Change (1, 255) =

169.73, p \ .001. In this equation, positive affect recordeda significant direct positive effect (b = .66, p \ .001), butwork stress became non-significant (b = .02, p [ .05).1

Table 1 Correlations, means, standard deviations, and range values for all variables

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1. Work stress

2. Positive affect -.30***

3. Resilience -.16** .65***

4. Burnout .57*** -.57*** -.47***

5. Years taught -.05 .22*** .11 -.18**

6. Award recipient -.12 .20** .19** -.24*** .44***

7. Secondary school .04 .02 -.01 .08 .02 -.01

8. Female .18** -.07 .07 .07 -.04 .06 -.13*

9. Minority .04 .03 .03 -.05 -.10 -.08 -.14* -.20**

10. Advanced degree -.06 .09 .02 -.05 .29*** .22*** .10 -.11 .01

Mean 65.68 69.49 78.99 38.55 17.52

Standard deviation 34.93 10.84 10.69 19.29 10.86

Minimum .00 37.00 47.00 1.00 1.00

Maximum 161.00 95.00 100.00 89.00 44.00

* p \ .05, ** p \ .01, *** p \ .001 (two-tailed)

1 Interestingly, the unexpected drop in the significance of work stress

suggested that positive affect could be mediating the link between

work stress and resilience. To analyze this model, we used Preacher

and Hayes (2008) INDIRECT macro with the bootstrapping method

to determine if positive affect actually mediated the relationship

between work stress and resilience, while controlling for demographic

covariates (viz., years taught, award recipient, secondary school,

female, minority, and advanced degre). Results revealed significant

direct paths between work stress and positive affect (b = -.09,p \ .001), and between positive affect and resilience (b = .66,p \ .001). After controlling for the effects of positive affect and theset of demographic controls, the direct relationship between work

stress and resilience was nonsignificant (b = .01, p [ .05), indicatingthat positive affect fully mediated the link between work stress and

resilience. The control variables had nonsignificant relationships with

resilience, except for female (b = 2.50, p \ .05) which indicated thatfemale teachers reported greater resilience than males. The indirect

Motiv Emot (2013) 37:185193 189

123

Holding all else constant, as positive affect increased by

one standard deviation, resilience was estimated to increase

by .66 standard deviation. To examine if positive affect had

a moderating effect on the relationship between work stress

and resilience, the interaction term work stress x positive

affect was tested in Step 4 but was non-significant.

Positive affect predicts unsuccessful adaptation to stress

Initially, the effects of the demographics, work stress, and

positive affect were calculated on each component of tea-

cher burnout (viz., emotional exhaustion, depersonaliza-

tion, and reduced personal accomplishment) as well as on

total burnout (i.e., the sum of the three components). Given

that the regression results for each component of the

burnout syndrome were similar to those using a total score,

only the results using the total burnout score are presented.

The six demographic covariates were entered in Step 1,

and significantly explained 8 % of the variance in burnout

(see Table 3). After entry of perceived work stress in Step

2, the total variance explained by the model as a whole was

38 %, F (7, 255) = 22.35, p \ .001. Work stress demon-strated a significant direct positive effect on burnout

(b = .57, p \ .001), explaining an additional 30 % of thevariance in burnout, after controlling for the demographic

variables, R2 Change = .30, F Change (1, 255) = 123.10,

p \ .001. Upon entering positive affect in Step 3, the total

variance explained by the model as a whole was 52 %,

F (8, 254) = 34.73, p \ .001. Positive affect explained anadditional 14 % of the variance in burnout, after control-

ling for the effects of work stress and the demographic

variables, R2 Change = .14, F Change (1, 254) = 75.62,

p \ .001. In this equation, work stress and positive affectboth recorded significant direct effects; work stress had a

positive effect (b = .45, p \ .001) while positive affecthad a negative effect (b = -.41, p \ .001). Holding allelse constant, as work stress increased by one standard

deviation, burnout was estimated to increase by .45 stan-

dard deviation. In contrast, as positive affect increased by

one standard deviation, burnout was estimated to decrease

by .41 standard deviation. To examine if positive affect had

a moderating effect on the relationship between work stress

and burnout, the interaction term work stress x positive

affect was examined in Step 4 but was non-significant.

Discussion

Using survey data from a cross-sectional study design, we

examined the influence of positive affect on successful and

unsuccessful adaptation to perceived work stress (viz.,

resilience and burnout, respectively) in a convenience

sample of public school teachers in Texas. After control-

ling for the effects of demographic characteristics and work

stress, positive affect had a direct positive effect on resil-

ience and a direct negative effect on burnout; further

analysis indicated that positive affect completely mediated

the relationship between work stress and resilience.

The direct effect of positive affect on resilience sup-

ported the value of positive affect in predicting successful

adaptation to stress (Fredrickson and Losada 2005; Keyes

2002). Specifically, our results indicated that higher scores

Table 2 Summary of hierarchical regression analysis for variables predicting resilience

Variable Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

B SE B b B SE B b B SE B b B SE B b

Years taught .05 .07 .05 .05 .07 .05 -.06 .05 -.06 -.06 .05 -.06

Award recipient 4.53 1.77 .18* 3.95 1.77 .15* 2.34 1.38 .09 2.29 1.38 .09

Secondary school .57 2.11 .02 1.01 2.09 .03 .21 1.63 .01 .22 1.63 .01

Female 1.71 1.56 .07 2.59 1.57 .11 2.59 1.22 .11* 2.60 1.22 .11*

Minority 2.04 1.98 .07 2.51 1.97 .08 1.07 1.53 .03 1.11 1.53 .04

Advanced degree -.63 1.38 -.03 -.71 1.37 -.03 -.75 1.06 -.04 -.80 1.06 -.04

Work stress -.05 .02 -.17** .01 .02 .02 .01 .02 .02

Positive affect .65 .05 .66*** .66 .05 .67***

Work stress 9 positive affect -.00 .00 -.04

R2 .04 .07 .44 .44

F for R2 Change 1.97 7.21** 169.73*** .69

* p \ .05, ** p \ .01, *** p \ .001

Footnote 1 continued

effect of work stress on resilience via positive affect was significant

(b = -.06) at 99 % confidence interval across three types of pointestimates (viz., percentile, bias corrected, and bias corrected and

accelerated). Taking together the direct and indirect effects, the total

effect of work stress on resilience was significant (b = -.05,p \ .05). The overall model accounted for 45 % of the total variancein resilience.

190 Motiv Emot (2013) 37:185193

123

on positive affect were associated with higher scores on

resilience. This finding supported the building effect of

Fredricksons (2001) broaden-and-build theory of positive

emotions, which suggests that experiences of positive

affect build ones cognitive and behavioral resilience

resources, and thereby help individuals more effectively

manage stress and adaptively cope with adversity. Further,

the non-significant interaction between work stress and

positive affect indicated that the effect of stress on resil-

ience did not depend on the teachers levels of positive

affect. Our data instead revealed that the impact of work

stress on resilience was fully mediated by positive affect,

suggesting that teachers resilience was not directly deter-

mined by work stress but rather indirectly via their positive

affectivity (see Footnote 1); this supports previous work, as

positive affect has been found to restore psychological

resources and enhance well-being in the face of stress

(Folkman 1997, 2008; Fredrickson et al. 2003). Thus, from

a practical standpoint, we recommend that in addition to

creating positive workplace conditions, interventions

should also focus on individual stress management pro-

grams that increase experiences of positive affect even

amidst stressful working conditions (e.g., adoption and

practice of adaptive coping strategies; mindfulness strate-

gies) as a method to promote successful adaptation to

adversity and enhance teacher resilience. Although hard-

ships are inevitable, this strategy may be more effective

than attempting to change environmental workplace

stressors, considering that individual positive affect is more

malleable and within ones locus of control, as opposed to

stressful work conditions, which often are unavoidable and

uncontrollable.

With regard to teacher burnout and unsuccessful adap-

tation to stress, the direct positive effect of stress on

burnout suggested that teachers with higher levels of per-

ceived work stress were more burned out, while the direct

negative effect of positive affect on burnout suggested that

teachers with higher levels of positive affect were less

likely to experience burnout. The non-significant interac-

tion, or moderation effect, between work stress and posi-

tive affect indicated that the impact of work stress on

teacher burnout was not dependent upon ones level of

positive affect; this was an unexpected finding considering

previous evidence behind the moderating influence of

positive affect on stress (Davis et al. 1998; Faulk et al.

2012; Ong et al. 2006). Overall, the direct effects of work

stress and positive affect on burnout revealed a summative

relationship between the two predictors, meaning that

while high stress levels led to teacher burnout, positive

affect had a restorative effect which reduced the accumu-

lation of stress and prevented the precipitation of teacher

burnout (Fredrickson 2000; Seery et al. 2010). From a

theoretical standpoint, Fredrickson and colleagues refer to

this process as the undoing effect of positive affect on

the harmful consequences of stress (Fredrickson et al.

2000; Fredrickson and Levenson 1998; Tugade and Fred-

rickson 2004).

Implications from the present study should be viewed in

light of several limitations. First, the cross-sectional survey

design of the study cannot determine directionality or

temporality of associations between variables; as such, the

resulting associations between variables may be true in

reverse direction (e.g., perceived work stress predicts

adaptation and/or adaptation predicts perceived work

stress; positive affect predicts adaptation and/or adaptation

predicts positive affect). It may also be possible that other

confounding factors accounted for some of the observed

relationships. Likewise, a prospective design would allow

Table 3 Summary of hierarchical regression analysis for variables predicting burnout

Variable Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

B SE B b B SE B b B SE B b B SE B b

Years taught -.18 .12 -.10 -.22 .10 -.12* -.09 .09 -.05 -.09 .09 -.05

Award recipient -9.67 3.15 -.21** -6.14 2.61 -.13* -4.34 2.30 -.09 -4.22 2.30 -.09

Secondary school 4.75 3.75 .08 2.07 3.09 .03 2.97 2.72 .05 2.96 2.72 .05

Female 3.63 2.76 .08 -1.77 2.32 -.04 -1.77 2.04 -.04 -1.81 2.04 -.04

Minority -2.81 3.52 -.05 -5.66 2.91 -.10 -4.06 2.56 -.07 -4.14 2.56 -.07

Advanced degree 1.15 2.46 .03 1.64 2.02 .04 1.68 1.78 .04 1.80 1.78 .05

Work stress .31 .03 .57*** .25 .03 .45*** .25 .03 .45***

Positive affect -.73 .08 -.41*** -.76 .09 -.42***

Work stress 9 positive affect .00 .00 .05

R2 .08 .38 .52 .53

F for R2 Change 3.76** 123.10*** 75.62*** 1.43

* p \ .05, ** p \ .01, *** p \ .001

Motiv Emot (2013) 37:185193 191

123

for assessment of the stress levels teachers experience over

the course of the academic year, as evidence suggests that

it may vary (Travers and Cooper 1996). Second, the self-

report nature of the survey instrument and voluntary par-

ticipation may have influenced the results with inherent

errors and biases, such as the potential for untruthful or

inaccurate responses due to lack of self-awareness.

Although the use of anonymous surveys enhanced the

strength of the study, the response rate of 26 % was only

moderate (Alreck and Settle 2004), and information was

not available about non-respondents. Additionally, the

snowball sampling procedure of asking initial participants

to recruit five other teachers to complete the surveys may

have resulted in a biased sample that may not be well-

representative of the true teacher population. Our sample

was comprised of experienced individuals with an average

of 18 years of teaching, and 22 % were recipients of a

prestigious Teaching Excellence Award. However, Duck-

worth et al. (2009) found that positive traits predicted

effectiveness in a sample of novice teachers; this previous

work, coupled with the present study, suggests that positive

affect may be beneficial to teachers across all levels of

experience. Despite these limitations, the findings of this

study offer important implications and provide support for

the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions as an

effective theoretical framework for developing stress

management programs, enhancing positive affect, and

promoting resilience among public school teachers.

References

Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing andinterpreting interactions. Newbury Park: Sage.

Alreck, P. L., & Settle, R. B. (2004). The survey research handbook(3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Bakker, A. B., Schaufeli, W. B., Demerouti, E., Janssen, P. P. M., Van

der Hulst, R., & Brouwer, J. (2000). Using equity theory to

examine the difference between burnout and depression. Anxiety,Stress and Coping, 13(3), 247268.

Bauer, J., Stamm, A., Virnich, K., Wissing, K., Muller, U., Wirsching,

M., et al. (2006). Correlation between burnout syndrome and

psychological and psychosomatic symptoms among teachers.

International Archives of Occupational and EnvironmentalHealth, 79(3), 199204.

Bellingrath, S., Weigl, T., & Kudielka, B. M. (2009). Chronic work stress

and exhaustion is associated with higher allostastic load in female

school teachers. Stress, 12(1), 3748. doi:10.1080/10253890802042041.

Beltman, S., Mansfield, C., & Price, A. (2011). Thriving not just

surviving: A review of research on teacher resilience. Educa-tional Research Review, 6(3), 185207.

Brunetti, G. J. (2006). Resilience under fire: Perspectives on the work

of experienced, inner city high school teachers in the United

States. Teaching and Teacher Education, 22(7), 812825.Carver, C. S. (1998). Resilience and thriving: Issues, models, and

linkages. Journal of Social Issues, 54(2), 245266. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1998.tb01217.x.

Chan, A. H., Chen, K., & Chong, E. Y. (2010). Work stress of

teachers from primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. In

Proceedings of the International MultiConference of Engineersand Computer Scientists, Vol III, ISBN: 978-988-18210-5-8.

Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioralsciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure

of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior,24(4), 385396.

Connor, K. M., & Davidson, J. R. T. (2003). Development of a new

resilience scale: The Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CD-

RISC). Depression and Anxiety, 18(2), 7682.Danner, D. D., Snowdon, D. A., & Friesen, W. V. (2001). Positive

emotions in early life and longevity: Findings from the nun

study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80(5),804813.

Davis, C. G., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Larson, J. (1998). Making sense

of loss and benefiting from the experience: Two construals of

meaning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(2),561.

Duckworth, A. L., Quinn, P. D., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2009).

Positive predictors of teacher effectiveness. The Journal ofPositive Psychology, 4(6), 540547.

Dunham, J., & Varma, V. (Eds.). (1998). Stress in teachers: Past,present and future. London, England: Whurr Publishers Ltd.

Faulk, K. E., Gloria, C. T., Cance, J. D., & Steinhardt, M. A. (2012).

Depressive symptoms among US military spouses during

deployment: The protective effect of positive emotions. ArmedForces & Society. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/0095327X11428785.

Fimian, M. J. (1984). The development of an instrument to measure

occupational stress in teachers: The teacher stress inventory.

Journal of Occupational Psychology, 57(4), 277293.Folkman, S. (1997). Positive psychological states and coping with

severe stress. Social Science and Medicine, 45(8), 12071221.Folkman, S. (2008). The case for positive emotions in the stress

process. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 21(1), 314. doi:10.1080/10615800701740457.

Folkman, S., & Moskowitz, J. T. (2000). Stress, positive emotion, and

coping. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9(4), 115.Fredrickson, B. L. (2000). Cultivating positive emotions to optimize

health and well-being. Prevention & Treatment, 3(1). doi:10.1037/1522-3736.3.1.31a.

Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive

psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions.

American Psychologist, 56, 218226.Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). The broaden-and-build theory of positive

emotions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B:Biological Sciences, 359(1449), 13671377. doi:10.1098/rstb.2004.1512.

Fredrickson, B. L. (2009). Positivity. New York, NY: CrownPublishers.

Fredrickson, B. L., & Joiner, T. (2002). Positive emotions trigger

upward spirals toward emotional well-being. PsychologicalScience, 13(2), 172.

Fredrickson, B. L., & Levenson, R. W. (1998). Positive emotions

speed recovery from the cardiovascular sequelae of negative

emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 12(2), 191220.Fredrickson, B. L., & Losada, M. F. (2005). Positive affect and the

complex dynamics of human flourishing. American Psycholo-gist, 60(7), 678686.

Fredrickson, B. L., Mancuso, R. A., Branigan, C., & Tugade, M. M.

(2000). The undoing effect of positive emotions. Motivation andEmotion, 24(4), 237258.

Fredrickson, B. L., Tugade, M. M., Waugh, C. E., & Larkin, G. R.

(2003). What good are positive emotions in crisis? A prospective

192 Motiv Emot (2013) 37:185193

123

study of resilience and emotions following the terrorist attacks

on the United States on September 11th, 2001. Journal ofPersonality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 365376.

Gu, Q., & Day, C. (2007). Teachers resilience: A necessary condition

for effectiveness. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(8),13021316. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2006.06.006.

Ingersoll, R. M. (2002). The teacher shortage: A case of wrong

diagnosis and wrong prescription. NASSP Bulletin, 86(631), 16.Ingersoll, R. M., & Smith, T. M. (2003). The wrong solution to the

teacher shortage. Educational Leadership, 60(8), 3033.Isen, A. M., & Daubman, K. A. (1984). The influence of affect on

categorization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,47, 12061217.

Isen, A. M., Daubman, K. A., & Nowicki, G. P. (1987). Positive affect

facilitates creative problem solving. Journal of Personality andSocial Psychology, 48, 14131426.

Keyes, C. L. M. (2002). The mental health continuum: From

languishing to flourishing in life. Journal of Health and SocialBehavior, 43, 207222.

Kobasa, S. C. (1979). Stressful life events, personality, and health: An

inquiry into hardiness. Journal of Personality and SocialPsychology, 37(1), 111. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.37.1.1.

Kyriacou, C. (2001). Teacher stress: Directions for future research.

Educational Review, 53(1), 2735.Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of

frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success?

Psychological Bulletin, 131(6), 803.Macdonald, D. (1999). Teacher attrition: A review of the literature.

Teaching and Teacher Education, 15(8), 835848.Manthei, R., Gilmore, A., Tuck, B., & Adair, V. (1996). Teacher

stress in intermediate schools. Educational Research, 38(1),319.

Maslach, C., Jackson, S. E., & Leiter, M. P. (1996). Maslach burnoutinventory manual. Paolo Alto, CA: Consulting PsychologistsPress.

Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2008). Early predictors of job burnout

and engagement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(3),498512.

Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout.

Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397422.Melchior, M., Caspi, A., Milne, B. J., Danese, A., Poulton, R., &

Moffitt, T. E. (2007). Work stress precipitates depression and

anxiety in young, working women and men. PsychologicalMedicine, 37(08), 11191129.

Montgomery, C., & Rupp, A. A. (2005). A meta-analysis for

exploring the diverse causes and effects of stress in teachers.

Canadian Journal of Education, 28(3), 458486.Nelson, D. W., & Knight, A. E. (2010). The power of positive

recollections: Reducing test anxiety and enhancing college

student efficacy and performance. Journal of Applied SocialPsychology, 40(3), 732745.

OLeary, V. E., & Ickovics, J. R. (1995). Resilience and thriving in

response to challenge: An opportunity for a paradigm shift in

womens health. Womens Health: Research on Gender, Behav-ior, and Policy, 1(2), 121142.

Ong, A. D., Bergeman, C., Bisconti, T. L., & Wallace, K. A. (2006).

Psychological resilience, positive emotions, and successful

adaptation to stress in later life. Journal of Personality andSocial Psychology, 91(4), 730749. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.91.4.730.

Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resamplingstrategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in

multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40,879891.

Rottenberg, J. (2005). Mood and emotion in major depression.

American Psychological Society, 14(3), 167170.Schwarzer, R., & Hallum, S. (2008). Perceived teacher self efficacy as

a predictor of job stress and burnout: Mediation analyses.

Applied Psychology, 57, 152171.Seery, M. D., Holman, E. A., & Silver, R. C. (2010). Whatever does

not kill us: Cumulative lifetime adversity, vulnerability, and

resilience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(6),10251041.

Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2011). Teaching job satisfaction and

motivation to leave the teaching profession: Relations with

school context, feeling of belonging, and emotional exhaustion.

Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(6), 10291038.Smith, A., Brice, C., Collins, A., Matthews, V., & McNamara, R.

(2000). The scale of occupational stress: A further analysis ofthe impact of demographic factors and type of job. Sudbury:Health and Safety Executive.

Travers, C. J., & Cooper, C. L. (1996). Teachers under pressure:Stress in the teaching profession. London, England: Routledge.

Tugade, M. M., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). Resilient individuals use

positive emotions to bounce back from negative emotional

experiences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,86(2), 320333.

Wang, J. (2005). Work stress as a risk factor for major depressive

episode(s). Psychological Medicine, 35(06), 865871.Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and

validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The

PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,54(6), 10631070.

Zhang, Q., & Sapp, D. A. (2008). A burning issue in teaching: The

impact of teacher burnout and nonverbal immediacy on student

motivation and affective learning. Journal of CommunicationStudies, 1(2), 152168.

Motiv Emot (2013) 37:185193 193

123

Copyright of Motivation & Emotion is the property of Springer Science & Business Media B.V. and its contentmay not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's expresswritten permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.